Tokyo Demons Book 2: Chapter 7, Part 1

The world narrowed around Jo. Daniel’s cries warped in the background. Jo watched, in time-slowed terror, as the cop reached out for him with one meaty hand.

“…!”

Jo’s heart restarted in his chest.

He choked and ducked, narrowly avoiding the cop’s reach. He stumbled back into a wall.

His body hitting the concrete snapped reality back. His hearing dropped in as his tunnel vision opened up.

“G-get the fuck away from me!” he snarled.

The police officer scowled. Kiyoshi, by Jo’s side, stepped between them and threw up his hands.

“I-I’m sorry, sir. He’s just…!”

“Move it,” the man barked. “Unless you want me to bring you in, too.”

Zayd sucked his teeth. “Officer,” he said thinly. “You have a warrant?”

The cop tugged a folded piece of paper from his front pocket. “A few teenagers took a beat joyride by posing as rookies,” he explained. “Detective Ochi said he left a few clean uniforms here while he was investigating a complaint. He thought he misplaced them, but now we know they were stolen.”

Jo’s mind reeled. He remembered the ominous message on Zayd’s phone.

Nakajima had sold them out.

And she hadn’t asked for Kado. What, because he wasn’t here? Because he was harder to prove?!

Jo wished he’d volunteered to be the one in the dress.

He could practically hear Miki screaming in his ear. This is what you get for trusting pigs, dipshit! You have too much to hide!

The other cop grabbed Sachi’s arm. When Jo’s policeman turned back to him, Jo recoiled like a cornered cat.

“Did…did Detective Nakajima put you up to this?” he spat. “And you believed her?!”

Zayd flashed him a warning glance. “Jo–”

“No,” Jo hissed through gritted teeth. “Fuck you!” He ignored Kiyoshi’s wide eyes and turned back to the cop. “I know everyone on the force hates her. This can’t be the first bullshit warrant she’s slapped together.”

The cop growled. When he lunged for Jo, Jo dove out of the way.

Shouts rang out as Jo was tackled from behind. In a matter of seconds he was crammed against the floor, one cop forcing his cheek against the wood as the other jerked his hands behind his back.

“Jo!” he heard Kiyoshi shout from somewhere. “We’ll bail you out! Just…”

Cold metal bit into Jo’s wrists. Years of nightmares rushed into him, pooling into the dark reality of his face crushing into that floor. He ground his teeth so hard he felt something pop in his jaw.

Goddammit!

One of the cops snarled in his ear. “Stop resisting,” he warned, “if you want to even pretend you have a chance at bail.”

Bail. Bail. As if that was what Jo was worried about. As if he thought he had a chance of escaping the system once he was in it.

He’d robbed so many people he’d lost count. He had a fake ID in his wallet and cigarettes in his pocket. He’d spent his entire life dodging the law, knowing that one fatal slip could land him in a spiral he wouldn’t escape. Maybe the church foreigners or his classmates didn’t know how “interrogations” with cops went, but Jo knew way too many people who had been through the system. Some were still in it, rotting away in juvie. They weren’t “good kids” who had just made “one mistake.”

And neither was he.

Jo swallowed bile. He couldn’t unclench his muscles; he tried to stop trembling.

The cop eventually dragged Jo to his feet and shoved him out the back door. Jo barely noticed a startled mail carrier jump out of their way, clutching her mailbag to her chest.

When the policeman crammed Jo into the back of the police cruiser, he didn’t properly protect Jo’s head; Jo slammed his temple against the car frame. Jo fell into the back seat, the world spinning as his head throbbed. He cursed and blinked at the flashing lights in his vision.

A few seconds later, a handcuffed Sachi slid in beside him. His body squashed up against Jo’s as the car door slammed shut.

No more than a second after the physical contact, Sachi turned wide eyes to Jo. His glasses had slid halfway down his nose.

“Jo,” he breathed. “It’s okay. Calm down.”

Jo wanted to retort, but the words turned to acid in his throat. His stomach lurched.

Sachi shook his head. “Just calm down. We’re in this together.” He lowered his voice. “You’re having a panic attack.”

I’m not, Jo’s head screamed, but he gurgled on the words. He wanted to vomit.

Sachi gestured to the window in the car door. “Lean your forehead there. You’ll cool down.”

Jo choked down saliva. When he didn’t move, Sachi gently nudged him toward the door until his temple touched the glass.

“Breathe,” Sachi whispered.

The cool touch on Jo’s skin was a tiny point of clarity. He still felt awful, but he pressed his nose and cheek against the window.

He didn’t even notice Sachi was counting until Jo’s breaths matched Sachi’s numbers. As the white haze in his mind began to clear, the car rumbled to life.

“No talking back there,” one of the cops snapped.

Jo opened blurry eyes and stared out at the street. The cramping in his stomach released another wave of nausea.

Sachi’s body was warm against Jo’s slowly numbing arm. He tried to focus on that as he closed his eyes against the vibrating glass.

***

Ayase pulled her hands from the bathroom sink, letting the automatic stream of water shut off on its own. She shook her wet hands, angry that she hadn’t brought a handkerchief.

Whatever, she thought. Get back to the room. Kadoyuki should be up now.

She pushed through the hospital bathroom door as she wiped her hands on her shirt. The nurses barely even glanced at her as she made the millionth trip back to Kadoyuki’s room.

She paused before she touched the doorknob. A strange feeling roiled in her gut.

She swallowed it down and opened the door.

Kadoyuki was sitting up in bed, his leg still elevated in the sling. He sniffed and wiped his eyes.

“Kadoyuki,” she called quietly as she closed the door behind her. “Are you okay?”

He mumbled something she couldn’t make out. “Yeah,” he answered as he blinked away tears.

She pulled a chair up to the side of his bed. He glanced at her as he cleared his throat.

“Do…do you know if something’s happening at the church?” he asked. “Zayd-san won’t answer his phone.”

Ayase opened her mouth, then closed it. Another strange sensation crawled through her brain.

What the hell? she thought. She rubbed her forehead, suddenly confused. Did she have to contact Zayd about something?

No, she thought. That’s not right. She hadn’t talked to Zayd since she’d left the church. Then why…

“Watanabe-san?”

“Uh…yeah,” she said at last. “I heard yelling through my insects a few minutes ago, but Emi told me not to get involved. Something about Detective Nakajima.”

“Yelling?” he repeated.

“Yeah.”

He paled, but said nothing. The two of them sat in silence for a long moment.

He finally looked up. “Watanabe-san,” he said quietly. “I’m…sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“For…a lot of things.”

Ayase sighed. “Don’t apologize. You’ve bailed the rest of us out plenty of times.” She furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry I couldn’t…protect you from Touya. I wasn’t supposed to blow my cover.”

Kadoyuki gripped his mouth. He wagged his head from side to side.

“Don’t apologize to me. None of you should ever apologize to me.”

Ayase frowned. “Kadoyuki–”

“No, wait. Please.” He gripped the sheets in his lap. “I…I want to tell you something.”

There was an unusual sharpness to the words; she shifted to the edge of her seat.

He took a breath.

“I know I don’t…talk about my family much. They’re very secretive. Since…so many of them are supernatural.”

Ayase remembered what Daniel had said about supernatural genetics. “Are they psychics?” she offered.

“Yes. Well, not all of them, but…” He brushed some of the poorly trimmed hair from his eyes. “Please keep this to yourself. U-unless it’s an emergency.”

Ayase nodded.

“Yoshimoto is my mother’s last name. My father took it when he married her. The women in my family are expected to continue the bloodline, since psychic women always give birth to psychic sons.” He pinched his fingers together. “If they marry a psychic man, then all the children are psychic. So they usually…seek down psychic men to bring them into the family.”

They try to breed psychics?

Ayase digested that for a second. She hadn’t considered wanting supernatural abilities.

“Is your father a psychic, Kadoyuki?”

He shook his head. “No. My mother…got pregnant with me while she was still in high school. My father was her classmate. They eloped the minute they were old enough.” He stared up at the ceiling. “My mother specifically didn’t want a psychic child.”

Ayase tried not to wince. This was awkward.

“Daniel-san said…you’re not technically a psychic, though. You’re an ‘uncategorized mutation’ or whatever. Like me.”

“I didn’t know that until Daniel-san told me. My mother didn’t know that.” He clenched his jaw. “And all it means is I can have more psychic powers. It’s even worse than we thought.”

He gripped his temples. “My mother wanted to leave the family, but her ability makes her…unstable and unhappy. And my father was already young and poor, so he couldn’t take care of us alone. She went back to the family she hated.” He swallowed. “And after she eloped with a non-psychic…her relationship with them is really bad, even though we all live together. She…takes it out on me.”

He looked up, his eyes wet. “I’m not like the rest of you–with one or two family members, or none at all. I live in a compound. If they thought something was wrong, a dozen people would expect me to come home immediately. Daniel-san can’t move all of them out of the country, and even if he did, my aunts and uncles would notice, and a dozen more people would get involved…” He choked down a sob. “I have a lot of people to protect. And I…lie to them. Even when I love them.”

A cold vise closed on Ayase’s heart. A warning niggled in the back of her mind, but she didn’t know why.

“Kadoyuki,” she said evenly. “What are you trying to tell me? Is this about keeping in contact with your parents?”

He rubbed a fist across his eyes. “It’s about everything! I know I’m a sinner, and weak, and selfish–”

“Stop,” she interjected. “You got hurt protecting us. Stop talking about yourself like–”

“You don’t know me!” he cried. “No one does! Sachi’s been trying for years, but I’ve locked him out. I don’t deserve him. He loves me, and I’ve just…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I’m trying to help us, but I’m so weak!”

Ayase’s heart started to pound. This didn’t sound like self-deprecation. Kadoyuki was always quick to apologize, but…this sounded off. Desperate.

She leaned closer to the bed and felt something nudge against her foot. She looked down.

A bottle of tea rolled along the floor.

***

Jo, still handcuffed, was shoved onto a hard wooden chair. The other policeman dropped Sachi into the chair by his side.

“Wait here,” the man ordered. “Your interrogation starts in five minutes.” He gestured to his partner, and the two of them left the room.

Jo heard the click of a key in the lock.

He broke out into a cold sweat. The room was windowless and empty, save for a wooden table in front of them. There was no camera in any corner–like a scene from a bad cop movie.

But the cliché surroundings only stoked his growing fear. He leaned closer to Sachi.

“Sachi,” he hissed.

Sachi tried to stretch his cuffed arms. “Yeah?”

“Don’t…don’t tell them anything personal about me. Like my dorm room or my foster contact.”

Sachi hesitated. “I’m not sure lying at this point is gonna help–”

“Listen to me. I’m not…I mean, I’ve done stuff.” Jo tried to arrange his panicked thoughts. “Just let me say what I’m gonna say and don’t tell them anything else. Please.”

Sachi’s face fell. “Is this about Motoi?” he whispered. “And the man you shot and killed?”

“Who the hell told you that?!”

Sachi shook his head. “You saved Shouri-san’s life–”

“They’re not gonna fucking care!”

Sachi’s mouth pulled into a grave line. “I’m not stupid,” he murmured. “I know we’ve been breaking the law, and Detective Nakajima was the only thing keeping us out of here.” He sighed. “Don’t worry, Jo. I won’t incriminate you in anything.”

Jo swallowed. His mind screamed in protest, but he was too scared Sachi would slip up if he didn’t know the truth. He steeled himself.

“Sachi…it’s more than that what we’ve been doing with the church. More than…what I’ve done with Byakko.” He stared at the table, suddenly unable to turn his head up. “I had shit in my past before I even met you. So don’t tell them anything about me or…that stuff might come out.”

Sachi was silent for a long moment.

“Okay.”

Jo waited for the inevitable barrage of questions, but they never came. After another stretch of silence, he finally looked up.

Sachi flexed the hands cuffed behind his back. He let out a breath.

That’s it? Jo thought. You’re not gonna ask?

“Uh…really?” Jo asked.

Sachi shrugged. “Whatever it was,” he murmured, “it’s behind you. You’re a much better person now than when I first met you.”

Jo felt his stomach lurch. “You don’t know that,” he said, the instinctive words burning in his mouth. He immediately regretted saying them.

Sachi flicked his gaze back to Jo. He raised an eyebrow behind his glasses.

“Um, yeah. I do.” He laughed nervously. “I think you guys just think of me as a lie detector these days. That’s not the only thing my power’s good for.”

Jo stared at him. He opened his mouth, then closed it. He grunted a noncommittal response.

Fuck.

He felt fire burn in the corners of his eyes. He slumped forward and dropped his forehead on the table.

ka-chak

The sound of the door sent Jo leaping back up in his chair. He whipped his head around.

Nakajima, wearing a fashionable dress that looked extremely strange on her, stepped inside the room. A plainclothes Ochi followed and locked the door behind them.

Despite his churning fear and panic, Jo still managed to feel hate. He glared daggers at the woman as he trembled in his chair.

“Bitch,” he spat.

Nakajima didn’t even blink. She just knelt behind him, gripped his handcuffs, and turned something with a click.

“Be quiet,” she ordered. “I brought you here to listen.”

She dragged the metal cuffs off his wrists. The minute his hands were free, Jo jumped to his feet.

She shoved him back down in the chair, her small hands gripping his shoulders in a bruising grip. “No,” she snapped. “We don’t have time for this.”

Jo gritted his teeth. “You–”

“You’re not going to jail, you spineless twit. I just needed to bring you here while keeping you in the dark.” She pointed to an empty corner in the ceiling. “No cameras. I’ll tell them I interrogated you and realized I had the wrong teenagers.”

Sachi looked up from rubbing his wrists. “What?”

Nakajima pocketed her handcuff key. “We discovered Touya Kamishita’s power this morning,” she explained. “Now we know we can’t talk anywhere he could get to. And for better or worse, he’s never been arrested.”

The powerful, crippling relief that rushed through Jo didn’t last. When he opened his mouth, Ochi interjected.

“This has nothing to do with Touya’s enhancement through Pitch, or his Malum ability related to sleep. That boy is definitely psychic.” Ochi hesitated for a second, his eyebrows furrowing. He stared at the floor.

“Touya Kamishita can see the future.”

Cold fear tingled up Jo’s spine. A torrent of saliva built up in the back of his throat.

“What?” he croaked.

“It’s location based. If he could’ve ever had access to an area, then you have to assume it’s compromised.” Ochi slid his hands into his pockets. “Isolate your important conversations and documents to areas he could never reach. Anything legible or spoken aloud might–”

“Wait, wait.” Sachi flipped up his hands. “There are psychics who can see through time?”

Ochi grunted. “Yes,” he said coldly. “And as you probably noticed, it’s kept him one step ahead of us.”

Jo’s mind spun. He gripped his head and ran his fingers up his hair.

He wanted to throw up again.

“He wanted us to know,” Nakajima went on. “He left us a message.” Her lips curled in a sneer. “He’s probably hoping to intimidate us again–by proving how difficult it is to genuinely hide something from him.”

Jo stared at his chaffed wrists. A million thoughts battled in his head, cramming against each other in a clash of terrible memories. What was it Kado had said about Touya’s mind?

“He thinks in exact fragments. Places, names, events. He repeats them, but sometimes he changes the order or adds thing, like he’s…arranging pieces of a puzzle.”

A puzzle.

The world was a goddamn puzzle to him.

“Touya knew we were coming in Motoi,” he breathed. “He knew Kiyoshi was alive, he knew we got Shouri-san out…”

“We’re not finished.” Nakajima’s face darkened. “This was our first chance to hit all the locations of the coordinated Core attack a few weeks ago. True to form, we found evidence that Touya was at every publicly attacked location, probably looking into its future.” She snorted. “Except for one. And we found something interesting discarded in a bush there.”

Ochi dug something small out of his pocket. He placed it on the table with a tiny tak.

A car key.

Proceed to Chapter 7, page 3–>